This week in Concord history
Feb. 11, 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints John G. Winant of Concord to succeed Joseph Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Winant, a Republican, is a former governor and served earlier in FDR’s presidency as the first administrator of the Social Security Administration. Feb. 11, 1965: The New Hampshire Senate agrees to reapportion its 24 seats, basing districts on population rather than wealth, as a 1964 U.S....
Concord trees are in danger, but work is being done to save them
Welcome to the Trees Issue. Kinda random, right? I know – how can someone make a whole newspaper issue about trees? What is there to report about trees, anyway? They probably make terrible interview subjects. Well, the truth is, there’s a lot of tree-related news in the city, and not all of it is good. While the Insider tends not to be a Debbie Downer type of publication, facts are facts, and the facts surrounding the capital city’s...
City announces new app to report issues
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: See, click & fix The City of Concord has partnered with SeeClickFix to implement a new citizen reporting platform and mobile app, making it easier than ever for the Concord community to report non-emergency quality-of-life concerns...
Bring the family out to a couple tree-related Concord events in April
Now that we’ve gotten the scary stuff out of the way, it’s time to focus on some fun stuff related to trees. First up is a class called Learn From the Arborist: Tree Care for Homeowners. The class will be held April 11 at 6 p.m. at the City Wide Community Center auditorium.Community Forester Cory Keeffe will lead a discussion on how to properly plant and maintain a tree on your property, as well as where to plant it to get the most...
Book: Murder, an unlikely suspect and an untrained sleuth
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne By Elsa Hart (344 pages, mystery, 2020) It’s London in 1703 and Cecily Kay, wife of a British diplomat in Smyrna, is a plant collector who has traveled back to England. She has gotten permission to study in the “Plant Room” in the house of Sir Barnaby Mayne. This is a very exciting prospect for Cecily, a learned amateur botanist. She has dried plants from Smyrna that she wishes to look up in his...
Sustainable Street Tree Program shows Concord’s commitment to urban forestry
The Arbor Day Foundation has named Concord, New Hampshire a Tree City USA community in honor of the City of Concord’s dedication to forestry management. Concord General Services’ Sustainable Street Tree Program is one of many ways the City of Concord continues to invest in the community’s urban forestry. The Sustainable Street Tree Program is an initiative to benefit the community with better air quality, provide shade, increase...
Popular CRVNA groups, classes now virtual
Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association, the largest home health and hospice provider in New Hampshire, has reimagined several of its popular wellness programs and support groups for a virtual setting as Granite Staters continue to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. “After nearly a full year adhering to physical distancing guidelines, the isolation is taking a toll on some, especially older adults,...
Cap Center’s new Bank of New Hampshire Stage aims to attract younger audience
There are numerous places to hear live music in Concord. Between the big venues such as the Capitol Center for the Arts and Concord City Auditorium and smaller places such as True Brew Barista, Penuche’s and NEC Concord – just to name a few – you can pretty much always find someone playing somewhere.But one more venue couldn’t hurt, right? Especially if that one more is a brand-new joint in the heart of downtown with a hip, young vibe...
Check out programs offered online
Author event Maine author Susan Conley (Elsey Come Home) visits Gibson’s virtually on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. to present her new novel, Landslide, a touching family novel about a family surviving one hit after another. Susan will be joined in conversation by fellow Maine author Kerri Arsenault (Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains). After a fishing accident leaves her husband hospitalized across the border in Canada, Jill is left to look...
Voting for the 2019 Cappies is now open!
It’s that time of year again — time to vote for your favorite capital area businesses and decide who will take home the coveted Cappies awards this year. All you have to do is go to concordmonitor.com/cappies2019 (or click the link on the right side of the Insider home page) and fill in the blanks for each of the listed categories. This is open response, so just write in whoever you think is the most deserving. Voting is...
Concord golf course improvements underway
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Merrimack Lodge The Merrimack Lodge at White Park will be open this Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Due to COVID-19, occupancy in the building will be limited. Skate rentals will be available for $5. Outdoor skating All outdoor...
Hop on over to the 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza this weekend
Hard to believe, but it’s almost time for ConcordTV’s 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza! Last year’s event was bigger than ever, so nothing can stop us now. The three-day festival for family and friends takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Bektash Shrine Center (home of the holiday “Feztival of Trees” each year) on Pembroke Road. This year’s Eggstravaganza includes a spectacular feature raffle of more than 150 stunning...
This week in Concord history
Feb. 4, 1908: In Concord, the St. Paul’s School ice hockey team defeats the Harvard freshmen 9-1. Captain Hobey Baker “played a wonderful game,” scoring three goals, the Monitor reports. Baker will later become a college hockey star, and the trophy awarded to the nation’s best male collegiate player each year will one day bear his name. Feb. 4, 1932: Skating on an outside rink in a preliminary match at the Olympic Games in Lake...
Making Good Health Simple: Paying attention – it’s easier said than done
Have you ever gotten a new car (or someone close to you did) and in the following week you seem to see that same exact make, model and color car practically everywhere you go? You’re scratching your head thinking, did 50 people in the surrounding towns purchase that same car this week? You know that can’t be possible, yet that is what you see – gunmetal gray GMC Yukons everywhere. Do you know why this occurs? It is not because there...
Poetry: Once
For the Monitor There was once an old barn, on the road near my home, boards weathered by past storms, overgrown fields where horses did roam. The rusted tin roof atop, sheltering from the floor to the loft, protecting all the farmer owned, the memory of the hay so soft. The years finally claimed the barn, slowly over many winters’ past, where there once was, some things just don’t last....
City Manager’s Newsletter: Beaver Meadow driving range is open, plus other fun stuff
Last Friday, the city’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter. There was too much to fit into this space, but you can see the full newsletter by going to concordnh.com and clicking on the Newsletter button on the home page. Beaver Meadow driving range open Happy spring! If you’ve been missing outdoor golf, we are happy to announce that the driving range at Beaver Meadow Golf Course is now...
Series continues
How to Raise an Elephant By Alexander McCall Smith (242 pages, mystery, 2020) Precious Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, loves her little white van, even though it is old and doesn’t go very fast. It gets her to where she needs to go and is like an old friend. When her assistant Charlie asks her for the loan of her van, she lends it willingly. But Charlie is evasive about what he needs the van for. He says that he...
Entertainment: Concord Community Music School’s Community Music Fest highlights a musical week
We’ve got a pretty nice week of entertainment here in the first week of April. On the music side, Concord Community Music School holds its all-day Community Music Fest on Saturday, offering up all kinds of chances to both listen to and create sweet sounds. Then, later that evening, ’80s and ’90s legend Paul Reiser, star of Mad About You, among many other big-time Hollywood productions, will do a comedy show at the Capitol Center for...
Book: Mystery aboard
The Devil and the Dark Water By Stuart Turton (463 pages, mystery, 2020) The Devil and the Dark Water is a delightful take on the classic locked-room mystery — with this “locked room” taking the form of a Dutch East India trading ship traveling from Batavia (present-day Indonesia) to Amsterdam. No sooner has the galleon left port, than the strange goings-on begin. A supposedly-dead leper appears out of nowhere and curses all...
Gibson’s Bookstore to host Open Discussion Project on Monday
Reasonable people of all political persuasions view the increased polarization of our politics with dismay. Too often, we’re only talking to people who agree with us. Anyone who doesn’t agree is an idiot, a troll or a monster. This “siloing” of ideas and experiences undercuts our nation’s ability to address urgent problems and take necessary actions. This isn’t just a left vs.right issue. It has corrupted the internal politics of both...
OLLI class registrations opens soon
OLLI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, at Granite State College recently announced that there will be 81 affordable, non-credit courses offered on Zoom during the 2021 spring term which begins on Feb. 22. OLLI courses range from single sessions to six-sessions in categories such as: history, politics, arts and literature, philosophy and religion, computer and personal skills, health and food, science and environment plus more. To...
Bulletin Board: Many happenings at NHTI, free workouts and more
International student at NHTI NHTI has students from more than 50 foreign nations. Every April, Wings of Knowledge invites one of them to speak about their homeland, and their journey to America. On Tuesday, April 2 at 6 p.m., join us as Human Service student Chekeri Byimanikora shares the wonders and beauties of her homeland, Rwanda. Known as Igihugu cy’I misozi Igihumbi, or Land of a Thousand Hills, Rwanda is rich in natural beauty....
Book: Opportunity to change
The Midnight LibraryBy Matt Haig(288 pages, fantasy, 2020)This book is a New York Times bestseller, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick and A LibraryReads 2020 Voter Favorite. Several coworkers recommended it, so I thought that I would give it a try.Nora Seed is a young woman who has decided that she doesn’t want to live anymore. She has no job, no boyfriend, no husband, her parents are gone, her brother is distant, her friend has...
Take a trip to Eastern Europe with the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce invites members, their family and friends, and interested community members to join them on an eight-day journey through Eastern Europe departing March 17, 2020. From the enchanting medieval towns of Eastern Europe to the vibrant and cultured cities of Prague and Vienna, this tour will provide guests with a close-up look at this part of the world. Regarded as Europe’s most beautiful travel...
Poem: Rusted Railroad Tracks
Rusted railroad tracks, where do you go, where have you been, what do you know? You have taken men off to war, some never again seen, tears have been shed, what does it mean? You have withstood the elements, seen many winters, summers, and falls, ushered in new generations, new conductors with new calls. You have brought people together, and torn others apart, witnessed accidents and tragedy, as each journey did start. You lost your...
Book: Painting problem
Next to Last Stand By Craig Johnson (336 pages, mystery, 2020) Custer’s Last Fight is a famous painting that was reproduced by Anheuser-Busch and has been viewed by thousands in saloons and barrooms across the country. At one point prints were distributed at a rate of over two million copies a year. The original painting was destroyed in a fire at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1946. But maybe it wasn’t? Maybe someone saved it before the...
Blast From the Past: The true meaning of Concord
It was in the year 1725 that our beloved town was granted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony as the town of Penacook Plantation. The good citizens were subjects of the crown and settled as they established themselves in the first years. There were chores at hand and buildings to be built while farms were established and a day of worship observed. Our ancestors certainly knew the value of hard work, and survival was of the utmost concern....
Cheers installs heated igloos to provide patio seating option for diners
Cheers owners Todd and Wendy Roy have taken outdoor seating to the next level – igloos. “My wife and I were talking about it, and we have this beautiful patio, so we wanted to use that and we started looking at these igloos,” Todd Roy said. The Roys found what they were looking for at TableBaseDepot in Blaine, Wash., and had four of them shipped to New Hampshire. “The customers we had in there last weekend were like, ‘We haven’t been...
CASL Part II: These 12 students are also going to change the world
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce welcomed 24 students selected to take part in Capital Area Student Leadership 2019 during a reception on Feb. 20, also attended by parents, guardians, CASL committee members and Chamber staff program liaisons. The students assembled again in early March at the City Wide Community Center for CASL Communication Day,...
City newsletter: New history display, winter activity updates
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Skating The White Park Pond, Beaver Meadow Pond and Rollins skating areas will be open for skating. The Merrimack Lodge at White Park will be open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Masks are required while inside the building and...
